Australian news and politics: Donald Trump pauses all military aid to Ukraine after Zelensky clash

China has announced it will impose tariffs of up to 15 per cent on US goods in retaliation for the Trump administration’s tariffs on Chinese goods.

An additional US tariff of 10 per cent is set to take effect from 12.01am Tuesday local time.

Returning fire, the Chinese will impose additional tariffs US goods including chicken, wheat, corn and cotton to the tune of 15 per cent, with a 10 per cent tariff imposed on US sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, fruits, vegetables and dairy and aquatic products.

“The unilateral tariff increase by the US harms the multilateral trade system, increases the burden on American businesses and consumers, and undermines the foundation of China-US economic and trade cooperation,” China’s Customs Tariff Commission said in a statement.

Despite a fiery and very public showdown in the Oval Office in which he accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of being ungrateful, J.D. Vance says he still believes a peace deal is possible.

The US Vice President made his first comments about the trainwreck meeting in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity,

Mr Vance said Zelensky had shown “a clear unwillingness to engage in the peace process that President Trump has said is the policy of the American people and of their president. That’s the real breakdown is, I think Zelensky, wasn’t yet there. And I think, frankly, now still isn’t there, but I think he will get there eventually, he has to.”

The AFL’s season opener has been officially postponed two days out from Brisbane’s home fixture against Geelong amid the threat posed by Cyclone Alfred.

It comes as Saturday’s game between Gold Coast and Essendon was also put on hold, leaving the league without two of its four matches for the opening week of the season.

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Qantas and Virgin have begun messaging customers and posting warnings about the likleihood of disruptions and safety concerns as Cyclone Alfred looms.

Both say they are monitoring Alfred’s movements off the coast of Queensland and will be making judgment calls in the coming days.

“Our dedicated meteorology team are closely monitoring the cyclone, alongside our operations team, and we will contact customers directly with any changes to their flights. The safety of our customers and people is our main priority,” A Qantas Group spokesperson said.

The tropical cyclone is due to land between the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane some time on Thursday night or Friday morning and will bring with it the likelihood of unprecedented rainfall, flooding and high seas.

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Justin Trudeau has announced Canada will immediately respond with tariffs on AUD$48 billion of US goods if the Trump adinistration goes ahead with its tariff plan due to take effect on Tuesday local time.

The US is set to impose 25 per cent tariffs on products imported from its northern neighbour and 10 per cent tariffs on Canadian energy.

“Let me be unequivocally clear – there is no justification for these actions,” the Canadian Prime Minister said.

He said should the US tariffs come into effect, Canada would respond in kind and the tariffs would remain in place until the US trade action was withdrawn.

And, if they weren’t lifted, Mr Trudeau said authorities were in “in active and ongoing discussions” with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures.

“Because of the tariffs imposed by the US, Americans will pay more for groceries, gas, and cars, and potentially lose thousands of jobs.

“Tariffs will disrupt an incredibly successful trading relationship. They will violate the very trade agreement that was negotiated by President Trump in his last term.”

Roger Cook has branded US Vice-President JD Vance a “knob” at The West Australian’s Leadership Matters event on Tuesday.

Speaking during a Q&A with The West Australian’s State Political Editor Jessica Page, the WA Premier was asked to complete the sentence: “J.D. Vance is a …”.

“Knob,” Mr Cook said, drawing laughs, before adding: “sorry, you’ve got to have one unprofessional moment on stage.”

Pushed on former comments he made that the re-election of Donald Trump as US president would represent a “dark road” for the world, the Premier said.

Asked about the comments, Treasurer Jim Chalmers downplayed suggestions they could damage Australia’s attempts to secure tariff exemptions.

“I would chose different words. But that doesn’t … I’m not making any judgments about the words that Roger chose,” Dr Chalmers said.

Supermarket shelves in south-east Queensland are being stripped of essentials as locals scramble to prepare ahead of Cyclone Alfred.

Many, including Nerang Coles on the Gold Coast, has been emptied of water and stocks are reportedly low on bread and milk.

Premier David Crisafulli has urged supermarkets to restock as soon as possible.

Kevin Rudd, Australia’s ambassador to the US, has launched a staunch defence of the alliance between the two nations amid a shake up under Donald Trump.

Dr Rudd cautioned against concerns about a breakdown in the bilateral relationship between Canberra and the Trump White House, saying the world had previously gone through cycles of tumultuous change, including the Cold War, the fracture of Eastern Europe and near nuclear confrontation in the 1980s.

“That was a period where you’re sitting on the edge of the abyss,” he told an Australian National University broadcast in Washington on Tuesday.

“So when we stand back and say, ‘oh, the world is going through tumultuous change’, I would simply ask you to reflect for a moment, we have been through significant cycles of tumultuous change in the past.”

Australia would be able to weather global uncertainty by being confident in its values, how it pursued its national interest and how it managed friends, partners and allies, Dr Rudd said.

What kept the alliance strong across “the ebbs and flows of individual administrations and governments” stemming 14 US presidents and 16 Australian prime ministers over 75 years was its anchoring of common values.

This included democracy and similar national security interests.

“Those fundamentals tend not to change,” Dr Rudd said.

Prosecutors have added a second drug charge to their case against former SA Liberal leader David Speirs, a court has been told.

David Speirs, 40, appeared in Adelaide Magistrates Court on Tuesday, where Director of Public Prosecutions Martin Hinton KC said a charge determination had been made and negotiations with Speirs’ lawyers had commenced.

Mr Speirs was initially charged with two counts of supplying or administering drug (not cannabis) to another person from August 2-3 and on August 9. But one charge was dropped and the other was varied before his first court appearance in November.

In court on Tuesday, Mr Hinton told Magistrate Lynette Duncan he would proceed with two counts of the same charge.

Abe Maddison - AAP

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Donald Trump’s tariff plans were a factor in the RBA deliberations on how the economy would fare in 2025.

According to minutes of the RBA’s meeting on the 17th and 18th of February, the Board decided to overlook the impact of tariffs during its most recent deliberation in favour of domestic issues, but was becoming increasingly concerned.

“Uncertainty about the global economic outlook remained high, given evolving developments in US Government policies relating to trade, the fiscal position, deregulation and immigration,” the RBA wrote.

While the Board noted that forecasts for global growth had not materially changed, it did see a future with much greater volatility.

“Members noted the potential for global trade tensions to escalate, in which case these forecasts could change quickly and significantly,” the minutes said.

At the time of deliberation, the imposition of a 25 per cent tariff on Canada and Mexico had been paused, and the tariff on China was smaller than threatened during Donald Trump’s campaign, at an additional 10 per cent.

Overnight, Donald Trump confirmed the tariffs on Canada and Mexico would go ahead, while tariffs on Chinese imports would rise to 20 per cent from 10 per cent.

The RBA also looked at the long term future for sovereign debt, and its impact on bond yields globally. Higher interest rates elsewhere have a knock-on effect on Australia.

“Projections for ongoing growth in public debt were also placing upward pressure on sovereign yields in the United States, the United Kingdom and parts of Europe.”